anther question about the San Diego to San Franciso drive

[phatcow]

what is the fastst highway that i can take to go up?

 

[Sluggo]

Not even living near CA I can answer that with I-5

Traffic moves about 100MPH on that Interstate.

 

[phatcow]

so avoid whatever the coast highway is?

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

I-5 North to 152 West through Gilroy to the 101 North straight to SF. You may want another road going into DTown, don't know where you're going in the city. This is the absolute fastest route there is. Don't even try to take Coast HWY1 through Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, there's COPS everywhere! Plus, you'll have to battle going over the hill from Santa Cruz to San Jose.

 

[Moonbeam]

I think 5 too but don't fall asleep. I drove down five one night and the whole highway turned upside down. That was a freak because I never drove upside down before. Didn't know if steering left was gonna turn me right or what. The bad part was that the highway didn't rotate over, it tipped from end to end and for a few stomach turning moments I was driving straight down.

 

[Sluggo]

Originally posted by: phatcow
so avoid whatever the coast highway is?

Are you going to San Francisco proper, or just a bay area community San Jose, Oakland etc.

 

[phatcow]

im going into downtown san fran

 

[bUnMaNGo]

Originally posted by: phatcow
so avoid whatever the coast highway is?

have you ever driven on PCH? Sure, it's a nice view, but the majority of it up on the central coast is part of some national forest (I forget the name of it). That means more twisties and turns than a Twizzler I made the drive from SF down the scenic route, past Half Moon Bay, through Santa Cruz and Monterey... down to San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and finally, Santa Barbara. After that, my friend couldn't take the drive anymore, so we hopped on the 101 and cruised into downtown LA. Don't get me wrong- it's definately worth a drive, but maybe just once or twice. Took us about 10 hours to drive down to LA from San Francisco down PCH. I plan on making the drive again one day when I have time to take a week off of everything and spend some time in each of the cities we pass. So, to answer your question, I'd just take the 5 all the way up from SD... should take about 5-6 hours if you don't get caught speeding. My personal record? 4.5 hours from San Jose to LA. That was taking the 101 -> 152 -> 5. To get from SD to downtown SF, you'd want to take the 5 to the 580 to the 80, which leads you right to the Bay Bridge into downtown. Or, you can take the semi-scenic route up the 101 from LA, which will drop you right by the airport up in SF.

On another note, why drive? Southwest is running a bunch of specials, and if you can plan it correctly, you can get a flight roundtrip to Oakland (which is just across the Bay Bridge, you can take BART into "the city") for around $70/person.

 

[ggavinmoss]

Honestly, unless you're really into scenery, the potential "cost" of sitting behind traffic on that crappy 2-lane highway isn't worth it. The 5 is fine by me if you're just trying to get North (although it'll be ugly as all hell).

-geoff

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I think 5 too but don't fall asleep. I drove down five one night and the whole highway turned upside down. That was a freak because I never drove upside down before. Didn't know if steering left was gonna turn me right or what. The bad part was that the highway didn't rotate over, it tipped from end to end and for a few stomach turning moments I was driving straight down.

wtf were you on?!

 

[dethman]

5. avoid the 101 or the 1 like the plague.

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Originally posted by: bUnMaNGo

Originally posted by: phatcow
so avoid whatever the coast highway is?

have you ever driven on PCH? Sure, it's a nice view, but the majority of it up on the central coast is part of some national forest (I forget the name of it). That means more twisties and turns than a Twizzler I made the drive from SF down the scenic route, past Half Moon Bay, through Santa Cruz and Monterey... down to San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and finally, Santa Barbara. After that, my friend couldn't take the drive anymore, so we hopped on the 101 and cruised into downtown LA. Don't get me wrong- it's definately worth a drive, but maybe just once or twice. Took us about 10 hours to drive down to LA from San Francisco down PCH. I plan on making the drive again one day when I have time to take a week off of everything and spend some time in each of the cities we pass. So, to answer your question, I'd just take the 5 all the way up from SD... should take about 5-6 hours if you don't get caught speeding. My personal record? 4.5 hours from San Jose to LA. That was taking the 101 -> 152 -> 5. To get from SD to downtown SF, you'd want to take the 5 to the 580 to the 80, which leads you right to the Bay Bridge into downtown. Or, you can take the semi-scenic route up the 101 from LA, which will drop you right by the airport up in SF.

On another note, why drive? Southwest is running a bunch of specials, and if you can plan it correctly, you can get a flight roundtrip to Oakland (which is just across the Bay Bridge, you can take BART into "the city") for around $70/person.

It's called Montana de Oro ... and it's not too bad. I live on the Central Coast and it's beautiful. Yeah traffic can get congested because it's only 2 lanes ... but meh. Takes me 3-3.5 hours to go up to SF and 3.5-4 hours to get to LA via 101 almost the entire way. Slightly longer drive to LA (by about half an hour) but overall it's not that bad. Depends on traffic and the like really.

But yes, I-5 is the fastest to SF, hands down.

 

[dakata24]

if you're going to be on 152, goto Casa de Fruta..

 

[Moonbeam]

StevO, sleep and sensory deprivation. There's nothing out there but a white line. I'm going to see if DogFrom will sell me some PCH though. I've never tried that. In fact I've never heard of it. Going to have to wait before I'll know if I can drive on it.

 

[dakata24]

and friend and i drove back from l.a. (well, he drove, i just talked to him to keep us both awake) on i-5 at night.. all was pretty smooth till hitting 152, then it got windie road. he had to turn the high beams on more than a few times.. i guess it didnt help that we just got back to l.a. (to drop a friend off) from a road trip to vegas and that we didnt get alot of sleep while on our 2 day stay in vegas.. hehe.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I think 5 too but don't fall asleep. I drove down five one night and the whole highway turned upside down. That was a freak because I never drove upside down before. Didn't know if steering left was gonna turn me right or what. The bad part was that the highway didn't rotate over, it tipped from end to end and for a few stomach turning moments I was driving straight down.

Once again, Moonbeam, we request that you stop smoking crack

 

[Dragnov]

The 5 but make sure you dont go during traffic. At best you can make the tip in about 6 hours or so. The PCH is nice and all but it takes A LOT longer. I mean 4+ hours. It's an absolutely boring, mind numbing experience... you know you hit the halfway point once you pass by the massive cows... you can't miss the smell. =P

 

[huey1124]

Originally posted by: dakata24
if you're going to be on 152, goto Casa de Fruta..

i absolutely LOVE Casa de Fruta. last time i was at Valley Fair mall in SJ, there was a Casa de Fruta store inside the mall. i love their dried mangos......... (drool).

i drove from san diego to sunnyvale in 5 hours and 30 minutes one time. and that included a stop for gas, food, and bathroom break.